Consumer Confidence Continues Its Rise

Credit union members’ attitudes about the economy continued to improve during the past quarter and are better than they were a year ago, according to data released from the credit union member demographic of the Discover Financial Services’ “U.S. Spending Monitor.”

Credit union members who rate the U.S. economy as “good” or “excellent” doubled to 18% in April compared to a year earlier. Credit union members have more positive attitudes about the economy than non-credit union members, with 14% of non-credit union members rating the economy as “good” or “excellent.” In addition, 47% of credit union members rate the economy as “poor,” a decrease of nine percentage points from a year earlier.

The number of credit union members who believe the economy is getting better jumped in the last year, with 37% of respondents reporting that the economy is improving. That is 11 percentage points higher than a year ago. At the same time, only 44% of credit union members believe the economy is getting worse, compared to 50% of non-credit union members.

In line with the favorable views of the economy, the survey found that 42% of credit union members rated their personal finances as “good” or “excellent” in April 2012, an improvement of four percentage points from April 2011. This compares to 36% of non-credit union members rating their personal finances as “good” or “excellent” in 2012.

The survey also found that in April, 29% of credit union members felt their finances were getting better, an improvement of seven percentage points from the same time period last year. Additionally, 55% of credit union members reported that they would maintain their rate of savings next month, an increase of six percentage points from the year earlier. Of non-credit union members, 48% reported they would have the same rate of saving.

The findings among credit union members are part of the U.S. Spending Monitor, which polls more than 8,200 consumers each month.